Fiction

There But For The

There But For The

  • Downloads：3811
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-05 14:53:57
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Ali Smith
  • ISBN：0141025190
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

There but for the is the sparkling satirical novel by bestselling Ali Smith 'There once was a man who， one night between the main course and the sweet at a dinner party， went upstairs and locked himself in one of the bedrooms of the house of the people who were giving the dinner party 。 。 。' As time passes by and the consequences of this stranger's actions ripple outwards， touching the owners， the guests， the neighbours and the whole country， so Ali Smith draws us into a beautiful， strange place where everyone is so much more than they at first appear。 There but for the was hailed as one of the best books of 2011 by Jeanette Winterson， A。S。 Byatt， Patrick Ness， Sebastian Barry， Boyd Tonkin， Erica Wagner and Nick Barley。 'Dazzlingly inventive' A。S。 Byatt 'Whimsically devastating。 Playful， humorous， serious， profoundly clever and profoundly affecting' Guardian 'A real gem' Erica Wagner， The Times 'Eccentric， adventurous， intoxicating， dazzling。 This is a novel with serious ambitions that remains huge fun to read' Literary Review 'If you liked Smith's earlier fiction， you will know that she enjoys setting up a situation before chucking in a literary Molotov cocktail then describing what happens' Sunday Express 'Wonderful， word-playful， compelling' Jeanette Winterson 'Smith can make anything happen， which is why she is one of our most exciting writers today' Daily Telegraph 'I take my hat off to Ali Smith。 Her writing lifts the soul' Evening Standard

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Reviews

Jess ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I read this years ago but it still sticks out in my mind as a truly unique story

Sarah ，

Confusingly Intriguing While it wasn’t my vibe， it did keep my interest because I was fixated on trying to figure out what exactly was going on。

W Freeman ，

i’m not very fond of precocious child characters - however i do love aging old gay men who can’t get the voice of the mother out of their head so this book gives and takes。 the dinner party set piece is an amazing little piece of writing - i love the structure and the character work and goddamn smith just makes it all seem so easy - she’s so sincere yet dastardly clever but like i said precocious kids bug me so the final chapter was a bit of a disappointment。

Hannah Arata ，

Loved this but I had to go back so many times to understand who I was reading， where I was， what I was reading about etc。 Ali smith writes similarly in her other novels but for some reason this one just felt confusing to me。 But it all came together in the end！！

Girish ，

"How do Vikings send secret messages？ Through the Norse code" A dinner guest， between the main course and desserts， decides to lock himself into one of the rooms。 He stays there for months much to the chagrin of the hosts。The book then takes off after 4 characters who know him or have met him and explores concepts like symbolism， art， memory， hypocracy through puns， wordplays and knock knock jokes。 It takes a lot of conviction to sell an abstract theme and for some reason I found Ali Smith's boo "How do Vikings send secret messages？ Through the Norse code" A dinner guest， between the main course and desserts， decides to lock himself into one of the rooms。 He stays there for months much to the chagrin of the hosts。The book then takes off after 4 characters who know him or have met him and explores concepts like symbolism， art， memory， hypocracy through puns， wordplays and knock knock jokes。 It takes a lot of conviction to sell an abstract theme and for some reason I found Ali Smith's book a rough work of her most recent seasonal quartet。 It also reminded me of Calvino's Baron in the trees which evolves a seemingly absurd thought。Maybe it was the mental space I was in reading the book， but I didn't enjoy it as much as I did her other books。 I was losing interest in the characters and the main character Miles Garth （the guest） seems to almost be clouded by the other characters。 There is also the obsessive compuslve punning disorder - which you wonder if the author couldn't help it。 After a few cheeky ones， you grow tired of them。Subpar for the course。 。。。more

Rachel Gonzalez ，

There were parts where I wish I better knew "why"， but that's not the point of this book or of reading this book， so it's all ok。 Ali Smith is a lovely writer， from the books I've read， it's positive experience。 There were parts where I wish I better knew "why"， but that's not the point of this book or of reading this book， so it's all ok。 Ali Smith is a lovely writer， from the books I've read， it's positive experience。 。。。more

Manavi ，

With Ali Smith， you never know how the story is going to turn out。 I love how she manipulates words and how effortlessly she writes about such complicated characters。 I've said it before and I'll say it again， Ali Smith is a God among us and we are blessed to have her。 With Ali Smith， you never know how the story is going to turn out。 I love how she manipulates words and how effortlessly she writes about such complicated characters。 I've said it before and I'll say it again， Ali Smith is a God among us and we are blessed to have her。 。。。more

Kølin Martin ，

I want to like this book but after thinking about it I still don't know how I feel about it。 Maybe I'm not smart enough， maybe it was too pretentious， maybe both。 I liked the wordplay， clever stuff; th0ugh sometimes it seemed trying too hard to be clever （Cleverest）。 I didn't like how little the actual plot had to do with the plot， although I also like not knowing why the connecting plot happens。 I don't know， I really just don't know。 I want to like this book but after thinking about it I still don't know how I feel about it。 Maybe I'm not smart enough， maybe it was too pretentious， maybe both。 I liked the wordplay， clever stuff; th0ugh sometimes it seemed trying too hard to be clever （Cleverest）。 I didn't like how little the actual plot had to do with the plot， although I also like not knowing why the connecting plot happens。 I don't know， I really just don't know。 。。。more

Charlie Lee ，

Section 1 （There） and 2 （But） are somewhat interesting。 I particularly enjoyed the dinner party， which felt surprisingly like a cross between two plays by Yasmina Reza: Art and God of Carnage。 However， Ali Smith isn't good at subtle， so the characters are heavily satirical in a much less interesting or realistic way。 Section 4 （The[2]） has some interesting word play and wit， but the novel is significantly lacking in structure， plot， characterisation and cohesion。 This is an experimental novel wh Section 1 （There） and 2 （But） are somewhat interesting。 I particularly enjoyed the dinner party， which felt surprisingly like a cross between two plays by Yasmina Reza: Art and God of Carnage。 However， Ali Smith isn't good at subtle， so the characters are heavily satirical in a much less interesting or realistic way。 Section 4 （The[2]） has some interesting word play and wit， but the novel is significantly lacking in structure， plot， characterisation and cohesion。 This is an experimental novel which did not work for me。 A second star is given for the ingenuity and richness of language at a sentence level。 。。。more

Luke ，

THERE are glimpses of sharp and obviously very clever writing BUT Smith’s characters are all so annoying and disturbing that if it wasn’t FOR the sublime quotes on THE first page I wouldn’t recommend opening the book。

Mica ，

I read this for school and it is the kind of book wherein every word， action， character name， and sentence structure is important to look at to understand the deeper meaning behind the book。 It isn't the kind of book you read for entertainment because you will definitely be left with more questions than answers。 I did like the subtle humor， especially in the second and fourth part of the novel。 Ali Smith does a great job in touching on very dark and harrowing issues and presenting them in a way I read this for school and it is the kind of book wherein every word， action， character name， and sentence structure is important to look at to understand the deeper meaning behind the book。 It isn't the kind of book you read for entertainment because you will definitely be left with more questions than answers。 I did like the subtle humor， especially in the second and fourth part of the novel。 Ali Smith does a great job in touching on very dark and harrowing issues and presenting them in a way everyone can understand。 。。。more

Heather ，

Really interesting premise， but the story got bogged down in the minutiae of certain characters lives。 Main character seemed like a fascinating person but we learned so little about him。 The ending felt thrown together and could have tied things together much better。

Meghan Thomas ，

An incredible dive into not just the harrowing world of surveillance， immigration， and recession which we can relate to ten years on， but how we can remain hopeful under these circumstances。 Absolutely charming。

Cara's Craftsations ，

The title was a lot more interesting than the book。

Kaarna ，

Tää oli hieno！ Tosi upea。 En oikein tiedä， mitä sanoa。 Neljä kertojaa， joilla oli tosi erilaiset äänet， mitä rakastan jos on eri kertojia。 Eläviä hahmoja， hienosti rakennettu kokonaisuus。 Mulle uusi kirjailija， aion kyllä lukea lisää Smithilta。

Sydney Levy ，

obsessed with this vibe！

Kevin ，

Let me get back to you。 Maybe if I read it twice more？

Vools ，

3。5 stars

Sandra ，

This was a great read。 Ali Smith is unbelievably creative， not just with how she manipulates language， but how she lets her imagination run wild， especially when she writes from the point of view of the 10-year-old girl。 There is a certain innocence in the child's questions and interpretation of reality that lends a tenderness to the whole story。 This is cleverly exploited by the author。 By letting the child explore certain inadmissible facts with the sincerity that is unique to the innocent， sh This was a great read。 Ali Smith is unbelievably creative， not just with how she manipulates language， but how she lets her imagination run wild， especially when she writes from the point of view of the 10-year-old girl。 There is a certain innocence in the child's questions and interpretation of reality that lends a tenderness to the whole story。 This is cleverly exploited by the author。 By letting the child explore certain inadmissible facts with the sincerity that is unique to the innocent， she makes sure that her adult readers are paying attention。 。。。more

Amy ，

Ali Smith’s writing is phenomenal。 I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time to come， and am looking forward to reading her other work。

Kimberly ，

Ali Smith has built an entire word-playground。

Abbie | ab_reads ，

When someone asks me why I love Ali Smith so much， I find it difficult to put together a coherent answer。 There's just ~something~ about her。 Her work pushes me out of my comfort zone each time， as she's incredibly playful with language。 I often have to read sections of her books two or three times to make sure I'm getting what she's putting out there， and I relish the challenge。 It forces me to slow down and appreciate her insight and linguistic creativity。。There But For The centres around one When someone asks me why I love Ali Smith so much， I find it difficult to put together a coherent answer。 There's just ~something~ about her。 Her work pushes me out of my comfort zone each time， as she's incredibly playful with language。 I often have to read sections of her books two or three times to make sure I'm getting what she's putting out there， and I relish the challenge。 It forces me to slow down and appreciate her insight and linguistic creativity。。There But For The centres around one man， Miles， who has locked himself in the spare bedroom of a stranger during an excruciating dinner party。 It all unravels from there， with Smith using it as a jumping point to explore all manner of things in true Ali Smith fashion。 Sometimes I have no idea where she's taking me when she goes off on one of her tangents， but I'm always strapped in and ready for the ride。。I said this in my review of Summer， but I honestly don't know a writer from the UK who has a keener eye on the shenanigans of the nation and the idiosyncrasies of the British people。 We are helpless in front of Ali Smith's pen。 She sees all and she doesn't hesitate to decimate us with a few choice words。 The dinner party chapter honestly curled my toes， it was just so accurate， the casual xenophobia of the white British middle-class laid out bare。。Just like in the Seasonal Quartet， Smith brings together a cast of seemingly unrelated characters who couldn't be more different from one another。 Then by some magical manoeuvring far beyond my comprehension， the connections all slot into place and my tiny mind is blown。 Even with my least favourite Smiths， there's always a moment that makes me go 😯 Ali， you sneaky so-and-so， you！。If you haven't read Ali Smith yet， please do yourself a favour and pick up one of her books！ Don't worry if you don't follow at first; you're in more than capable hands。 。。。more

Kathi ，

“Google is so strange。 It promises everything， but everything isn’t there。 You type in the words for what you need， and what you need becomes superfluous in an instant， shadowed instantaneously by the things you really need， and none of them answerable by Google“This book is pure， magnificent art， weird in the best way possible。 The writing is absolutely mind-blowing， plain words stuffed together until they reveal the most surprising secrets。 Simply put， this book is a fuc*ing masterpiece。 Defin “Google is so strange。 It promises everything， but everything isn’t there。 You type in the words for what you need， and what you need becomes superfluous in an instant， shadowed instantaneously by the things you really need， and none of them answerable by Google“This book is pure， magnificent art， weird in the best way possible。 The writing is absolutely mind-blowing， plain words stuffed together until they reveal the most surprising secrets。 Simply put， this book is a fuc*ing masterpiece。 Definitely not the last time I will read the work of Ali Smith。 。。。more

Sally ，

I'm never going to not love an Ali Smith novel。 I'm never going to not love an Ali Smith novel。 。。。more

Debbie ，

This is quirky and chocked full！ Quick easy read or a deep dive。。。 up to you！Who is Miles Garth in the world？

Isabel ，

Amazing wordplay and filled with puns。 Must read again someday

Julie Jørgensen ，

hmmmmm。 2，5 so far。 kiron， change my mind。

Sustainartpaige ，

I consume Ali Smith's book。 Like a binge eater。 I just inhale them。 I try to tell myself to slow down。 But I can't。 This book made me want to never go to a dinner party again。 Even during a pandemic I had this thought。 I wasn't sure about the premise of this book。 But as always Smith delivers。 I consume Ali Smith's book。 Like a binge eater。 I just inhale them。 I try to tell myself to slow down。 But I can't。 This book made me want to never go to a dinner party again。 Even during a pandemic I had this thought。 I wasn't sure about the premise of this book。 But as always Smith delivers。 。。。more

Evelyn Taylor-McGregor ，

I’m realizing every single Ali Smith book follows the same structure of several overlapping narrators。 I typically find this structure gimmicky but this book was lighter and more plot-driven than her others so it worked。

Vincent ，

The first Ali Smith I didn’t love， which means it is better than most novels。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=There But For The

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=There But For The&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,There But For The&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0